Artificial fruit



(o Model.)

C. HYDE.`

ARTIFICIAL FRUIT. No. 463,900.

Patented Nov. 24, 1891.

A TTU/MEN,

'me nonms versus co., 1Mo-rouw., wAsnmsmu, D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CAROLINE HYDE, OF STONINGTON, CONNECTICUT.

ARTI FICIAL FRU IT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 463,900, dated November 24,1891.

Application filed July 2l, 1891. Serial No. 400,200. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, CAROLINE HYDE, of Stonington, in the county of New London and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Artificial Fruit, of which the following is a full, clear, and eX- act description.

This invention consists in a novel, cheap, and advantageous constrifction of artificial fruit, and further consists in a special construction of the same whereby it may be utilized either as a pincushion or sachet, or both, substantially as hereinafter described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

IVhiIe the invention is not restricted to any one kind of artificial fruit, it will here be shown and described as an imitation of the apple, which will serve as well as any other for the purpose of explanation; but the pearand many other kinds of fruit having an attached protruding stem would answer equally as well.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification', in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l represents a view in perspective of an artificial apple embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section of the same; and Fig. 3, a sectional perspective view, upon a larger scale, of said piece of fruit in part, mainly illustrating the stem portion thereof.

A indicates a piece of cloth, silk, satin, or other suitable material or fabric designed to correspond to the skin or rind of the piece of fruit, and which will admit of being painted on the outside to give it the different shades and hues of the natural fruit. Thus I take a substantially straight piece of cloth A, or its equivalent, and pucker or ruffle it along its two opposite edges, uniting the ruffies by a thread b along either edge. The one of these threads is then drawn and caught to gather and nearly close the one ruffled edge of the cloth, so as to form the bottom or outer end c of the artificial apple, and the ends of the cloth are then united to form a bag, into which any suitable absorbent and penetrable, preferably flocculent, material B is inserted as a filling. A wire thread or cord cl, which may be doubled over upon itself,is then4 united with the gathered end c and run up through the filling B and connected at its opposite end with a wire e, that projects out through the other or stem end of the imitation apple, and that, after the ruffled edge forming the top edge of the bag has been gathered to* gether, is twisted and made to draw the two ends c c inward, so as to compact the filling B within the cloth wrapper or covering and hold the whole firmly together and give a natural finished shape to the artificial apple. The wire e, that projects through the gathered end c', virtually forms the stem of the fruit, and its continuation or cord d corresponds to the core thereof. A covering f, which may be a simple piece of rubber or other tubing, is applied to the protruding end portion of the wire e and may be inserted within the gathered end c* to give said portion of the wire a closer resemblance to the stem of the natural fruit. This stem portion forms a handle by which to hold or manipulate the piece of artificial fruit, which, made as described, will closely resemble the natural fruit and may be used as a pincushion, or, by applying perfume to the absorbent and penetrable filling B, may be utilized as a sachet or as both a pincushion and sachet.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. Artificial fruit comprising an outer covering or wrapper of cloth or its equivalent made to resemble the skin or rind of the natural fruit, a soft filling within said covering, and a stem-like projection on one side or end of the piece of artificial fruit, said stem-like projection extending through the fruit and secured to the opposite side or end thereof and serving t0 give the form of fruit and bind the whole together, substantially as specified.

2. A piece of artificial fruit, constructed, substantially as herein described, of a piece of cloth or its equivalent made to form a wrapper or covering corresponding tothe skin o1' rind of the natural fruit and gathered t0- l to the eore and Stem of the piece of fruit, gether 011 its edges on opposite sides of the set forth.

piece 01? fruit3 1h comhuatiou )Vith au absorb- CAROLINE HYDE. entJ lhng WlLhm Said eovermg and a eeu- 5 tral connection between the gathered Sides Ttnessesz of the covering, said connection projecting II. N. TRUMBULL, from one side, and the Whole corresponding HARMON J. KELSEY. 

